Koei Tecmo Announces Dynasty Warriors 9 Release Date

Koei Tecmo America recently announced a Western release date for the upcoming open-world Dynasty Warriors 9. The game is set to launch February 13, 2018, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam and features a host of changes to the well-known musou mechanics from previous Dynasty Warriors games.

Dynasty Warriors 9 takes place during the tumultuous period of Chinese unification in the Han dynasty, when various factions vied for control as the empire seemed to crumble. And, according to Koei Tecmo, the game adheres faithfully to the historical narrative.

One of the major changes in DW9 is that it's now an open-world game, taking you to familiar locations like the Yellow River, across snowy peaks and fortified ruins, and numerous other locations. The story takes place across 10 chapters through which you advance in any order you desire, along with a myriad of missions to keep you occupied. These missions vary in type, including Critical and Regular missions, and the way you handle them often affects the how other missions play out.

In addition to the familiar "one-versus-one-thousand" battle format, Koei Tecmo has implemented new battle mechanics. There are three types of attacks, which deal progressively more damage when used in succession: Trigger, Flow, and Finish Attacks. Players will also find new strategic options available to them, including "attack head on," "infiltrate at night," and "launch a surprise attack."

Koei Tecmo plans on providing bonus costume content available to those who buy either the digital or physical version of DW9, centering around the seven fan-favorite characters Guan Yinping, Diaochan, Sun Shangxiang, Lu Lingqi, Wang Yi, Zhao Yun, and Wang Yuanji. Zhao Yun gets a Beijing opera inspired outfit, where the other six receive special Chinese undergarments.

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Let us know in the comments if you plan on picking this one up! And stay tuned to GameSkinny for news and information on Dynasty Warriors 9 as it develops.

Josh Broadwell's gaming career began early--1993&comma; to be exact--when he was introduced to the Super Nintendo and Super Mario World&period; Despite all the magnificent games the SNES and&comma; later&comma; the original PlayStation had to offer&comma; it wasn't until the GameBoy Advance era that he finally discovered RPGs&comma; which quickly became a favorite genre&period; Games like Fire Emblem &lbrack;Blazing Blade&rsqb; and Golden Sun hold their places on his best games of all time list alongside more recent discoveries on the PlayStation Vita&comma; such as The Legend of Heroes&colon; Trails in the Sky trilogy and the Persona games &lpar;and yes&comma; 4 Golden is the best Persona&comma; end of story&rpar;&period;
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&NewLine;Josh began covering gaming in 2017 as part of a writing internship with GameSkinny as he sought to diversify his skillset and...more »